[Shreeram]

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

Hi, to cure a leaking wheel cylinder temporarily all you have to do is open the wheel cylinder,remove the piston carrying two rubber washers,remove the washers from the piston, take a normal thread used for stitching clothes,wrap around the groove for sufficient turns refit the washer and the leakage stops ... I had done this on my Dolphi and that repair job lasted for a good 14 months.

U mean u increased the thickness of the groove ? and then refited the Washer?

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by Shreeram

U mean u increased the thickness of the groove ? and then refited the Washer?

Almost right , it is the distance between rubber washer and the grrove bed which is increased thus more contact of rubber washer edges and the cylinder wall. Rubb Rakhaa

[Shreeram]

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

Almost right , it is the distance between rubber washer and the grrove bed which is increased thus more contact of rubber washer edges and the cylinder wall. Rubb Rakhaa

Ok. Thats just temporary. Thanks for the Pointers. Will be helpful in future in emergency. Anyways, I got oversize Seals made for the cylinders as per specifications here. Now they are working nice.

Regards
Shreeram

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Today while cleaning my old storage area I saw a small note I had written myself.
This note was very important during my Dolphin ownership days, it said that if original Dolphin upper radiator hose pipe is not found in the market then morris minor hose pipe will do the job by cutting it to exact size.
Now this information was for the year 1984 when morris minor parts were there in the market.

[haithereitsme]

My uncle bought a 92 model Sipani D1. The car that he drove home was no way the car we saw a the test drive. He spent a lot of money and time on that vehicle until last year when he sold it for 20K.

I was surprised some one picked it for 20K.

[AirWind]

I'm feeling nostaglic, I learnt driving in a Dolphin as a teen and it has been my love for a long time My passion for cars can be attributed to this humble machine.

My dad bought a used TDI-4005 "Sky blue" in the late 80's from my uncle who was the dealer then in Coimbatore. Honestly, we never had troubles because our uncle's mechanics used to prioritize this car and we've used it in Coimbatore, Madras and Bangalore with no major troubles when my dad was transferred.

I remember those OE Tubeless Radial Dunlops (yes, you read correctly) worn out, we didnt have a choice but to re-build the tyre (re-molded thread over that bald tyre) like they do for those trucks and when Vikram launched their auto pick-up, those stupid cross-ply's tyres were a straight fit.

Car came with drums upfront, I recall a miraculous escape for a biker who stopped at a signal in Chennai during rains and limited flooding, the car drums screeched to a halt!

In another incident, my father slid off a road during a rainy night, the left wheels were ~3/4th foot below the road, luckily the GC was good enuf to avoid damage to the front/rear axles. A couple of passerby's quickly lifted the car and pushed it back on road!

The good part was the 4 cylinder mill w/ rear transmission, however cure it may be, the M800 can never hold a candle. What a beautiful note it emitted. Special mention about the autorick beating turning radius! The wheel would literally come outside the fender!

Ingress/egress was a pain as it just had 2 doors, and we as kids were shown the rear seats, so pull up the front seats and squeeze in... i hated this. We seriously thought about switching to a Montana body and I even considered swapping that incredibly frugal 25 KMPL Jaya diesel engine.

A decent car, screwed up by Sipani's logistics (imports, after sales support). Someone told me this screw up was politically motivated when Maruti was setting up shop!

We stopped using it after my dad bought an M800 exactly 10 yrs later (it was a struggle to convince him buy one), but not to part with it, we squeeze parked (repeat, amazing turning radius) inside our house where the M800 can never go that far! Finally let it go for a measly 10K in '00, apparently to a driving school.

So if my head turns whenever I see a rare Dolphin or a Montana, you now know why!!! Sob-sob!

[Zed]

Originally Posted by AirWind

I'm feeling nostaglic, I learnt driving in a Dolphin as a teen and it has been my love for a long time !

I can relate to this. The dolphin was the first car that I drove without adult supervison. Or permission ! When dad was away on work a friend and I would push the car out of the building parking lot ( he'd push, id steer) about 100 meters down the steet - so mum wouldnt hear it fire up. And then drive around the block like a couple of Adrenalin driven teens. Which is pretty much what we were at 13.
Dreading the day my boys try to pull a stunt like this ...

The dolphin was a fun car to drive. I do wish we had the foresight to retain it. This is why I am holding on to my suzuki Shogun from my college days..

( Just recognized that I am responding to a post from 2012 ! )

[RenuKumar]

Excellent one Iqbal sir! We suddenly had a discussion about Dolphin car and I wanted to search Team BHP for some information. Your thread is extremely detailed and I could visualise your experience. Thanks again for a detailed review

[JLS]

We in family had considered Dolphin seriously during mid 80s.
However, after a very strong advise from our FNG mechanic that fiber body parts would cause huge issues with maintenance and each break/crack will need replacement rather than a dent removal and touchup as in normal cases.
We continued with our 2nd hand Premier Padmini, before moving to a 2nd hand M800.
I had tried to convince my dad a lot for benefits of Dolphin (fed to me by the sales man) but he preferred FNG mechanic experienced opinion to my juvenile pitching.
All except me were anyways against 2 door offering.

Great write-up Iqbal Virjee - your post helped me remember vividly all those discussions and debates, and your post also explained why this product could never sell in numbers close to M800 - due to lack of maturity in both products and company.

Thanks
JLS